The Law is Hard
by haleyb333
Summary: Magnus and Alec are finally ready to adopt children, and Alec surprises Magnus by giving him the best gift of all. But when the Clave expresses different views on exactly who has rights to start a family, what will Magnus and Alec have to do to save their family and their marriage?
1. Chapter 1

Magnus was terribly tired; he was on his fifth cup coffee, and yet he was fighting to stay awake. He was waiting on Alec, who had asked him to stay up until he was done with his demon hunting for the night. Which really meant far earlier in the morning than Magnus cared to stay up.

When they had first gotten together, Magnus had attempted to stay up each and every night, driven by worry for Alec. He had always fallen asleep trying to wait up anyways. Then, after they had gotten married, Magnus had somehow fallen into a routine, become more comfortable with their life and had stopped even trying to stay up.

He was trying to pass the time by reading a book from Alec's collection, but reading was causing him to fall asleep faster. It wasn't helping that he was continually distracted by wondering what Alec could possibly want to talk about. He had simply rushed out the door after giving Magnus a kiss and begging him to wait up.

Soon after Magnus had reached that haze state of "not asleep but not fully conscious", he felt a gentle hand pulling a blanket over him. Smiling, he, somewhat grudgingly, opened his eyes. If it had been anyone else waking him up, he would have immediately pulled the blanket all the way over his head and mostly likely would have complained for days. But waking up to Alec's face was always a complete joy. Alec being the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes caused his heart to flutter, caused him to fill with a happiness he once thought he could never feel.

Alec smiled widely when he saw Magnus move. "Sorry to wake you, love." He sat down at Magnus's legs and took one of his hands. Sitting up, Magnus wrapped his arm in Alec's, laying his head on Alec's shoulder.

"You didn't wake me, Alexander." He was trying to pretend like he had been perfectly awake, but even he could tell that his voice gave away just how tired he really was. Even so, Alec smiled and accepted it without protesting.

"We don't have to talk right now if you don't want to." Alec was keeping his voice soft, trying to keep his voice even as well, but Magnus knew him well enough to hear the thinly vailed excitement and anticipation.

Realizing that Alec was likely to burst with excitement before the night ended, Magnus shook his head and replied, "You've made me far too curious, Alexander. I think you best tell me what's going on before I go insane."

Alec smiled even wider and quickly got up without saying a word, headed toward the kitchen. Magnus was too tired to even attempt to find out what he was doing, until Alec came back with two cups of coffee in his hands. Handing one to Magnus, he sat back down on the couch, facing Magnus as much as possible and looking a bit anxious.

This only heightened Magnus's curiosity, but he knew enough to stay silent while he took the coffee from his husband. After taking a couple sips from his own coffee, Alec leaned back and seemed to think a bit, most likely trying to figure out where to start their conversation. Magnus had always been the one who was good with words; Alec, on the other hand, had always been the one who needed some work in that area.

"So," he began, taking a deep breath and avoiding Magnus's eyes ever so slightly. "I was thinking last night. About a lot of things. At first, I was thinking about how our marriage has essentially been everything I have ever asked for."

As he paused to take another breath, Magnus quickly interjected, picking up on the slightest of hints that most would have never gotten. "Essentially?" he inquired.

At that, Alec smiled sheepishly and began to blush. "Well," he seemed to be trying to recover, not really knowing how to answer. Then he seemed to decide to dive head first. "I was thinking about how I'd always dreamt of marrying someone, then I dreamt of marrying you specifically. Then I realized that my dream of being married wasn't the only dream I had."

He finally met Magnus's eyes as he finished explaining. "I've always dreamt of having a family too."

Magnus's sleep deprived mind was a little slow to begin with, but once he realized what was being asked of him, he quickly transitioned into shock. Of course, he knew that was ridiculous, that he had always known that Alec wanted a family. But that didn't mean that had prepared him any at all for Alec to say so.

Rarely had Magnus ever been speechless, but the look of hope and love in Alec's eyes took his breath away. He had no idea how to respond, even though he was in no way opposed to the idea of adopting children. Just as he was finally opening his mouth to respond, Alec grabbed his hand and began speaking again.

"Wait, there's something else I want to say before you talk." Magnus was slightly surprised that Alec was being so assertive, but it pleased him as well, so he simply nodded and waited for Alec to continue.

"I put a ton of thought into this, and I was kind of thinking that we could adopt warlock children." He stopped talking, simply smiling at Magnus and waiting for any kind of response. But Magnus was so speechless, so surprised that he was unsure he would ever be able to respond to a twist like that.

Finally he managed to get out a heavy, "And why is that, Alexander?" earning another smile from Alec.

"Well, like I said, I was thinking a lot about this." Alec couldn't keep the smile off of his face any longer, his eyes lit up as well. "And I was thinking about how many warlock children are feared or hated by their mundane parents who don't understand anything about them. Then I realized that you and I can love them, likely better than anyone else. I just thought that this would be my chance to make a difference in some way. That maybe we could change the lives of a few children."

Magnus knew tears were forming in his eyes, but he was beyond caring. Alec reached up to wipe one away as he continued speaking. "I was also thinking about how I'm not immortal. And I thought that us having warlock children would give you your own little family. Forever."

It would have taken everything Magnus had to keep from kissing Alec once he had finished speaking. So Magnus didn't put up a fight.


	2. Chapter 2

They had both fallen asleep shortly after their conversation ended, and after they had cleaned up the next morning, Alec quickly returned to where they had left off.

"So," he tried to make it seem as though he was calm and collected, but Magnus smiled at the thinly vailed excitement and joy. "We never really clarified what was going to happen. You know, as far as a family is concerned."

Magnus sat down on the couch with a smile and a shake of his head. Before speaking, he took a long sip from his coffee mug, mostly because he knew it would drive Alec insane, the long pause, the anticipation. "Well, Alexander," he began as he took one of Alec's hands, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I was under the assumption that we had come to an agreement last night."

The way Alec's face lit up with pure elation at Magnus's words set Magnus's heart into frantic fluttering. Whereas Alec had simply been full of hope before, he was now absolutely bursting with happiness. It was as though Magnus had been looking directly at light bulb as it has been turned on. His entire body was full of energy now, all of his features had a new light in them, and the effect of it left Magnus speechless.

Although Alec's joy did not diminish in any way, he began to speak again, this time there was a tinge of worry to his tone. "So um, not that I'm not terribly excited, but how do we even begin to go about this? It's not like I've had any experience with this."

Chuckling under his breath, Magnus tried to relieve his building worry over what would come next through humor. "Well, I'm not exactly an expert either, but I'm fairly certain that the first course of action is to tell absolutely no one of our plans until we have a child in our arms. You know, to preserve our sanity."

Alec began nodding vigorously, apparently thinking of just how insane his family might become if they knew their intentions. He himself could only halfway imagine Isabelle's squealing and planning, not to mention Alec's parents. That, however, was when Alec caught up with Magnus's avoidance of the real question. That was one thing Magnus simultaneously loved and sometimes hated about Alec. No matter how stubble the hint, he always picked up on how Magnus was feeling or why he was acting the way he was.

"Really, Magnus, I mean, I know I am definitely not going to utter a word of this until things are happening for sure, but what do we really need to do. I know you can tell how happy I am, I'm not going to even attempt to hide it, so I want to get this done as soon as possible."

Magnus sighed, knowing that this would be the hardest step in their process. "Well first, I think we need to go to the Clave to get approval, and then-" had it been any other situation, he would have been amused at Alec cutting him off.

"Of course we do. Of course. Just perfect, Magnus. Because the Clave is always perfectly reasonable."

Not knowing what to say, Magnus pulled his husband into his arms and began to play with his hair. He closed his eyes as he did so, letting the silence fall over them. Finally, Magnus managed to gather himself enough to speak again. "Don't worry, they let us get married, Alexander. They let me take your name. What's the worst they could do?"

Alec chuckled slightly in Magnus's arms. "Nothing good ever happens when we say that about the Clave."

* * *

It didn't actually seem like Magnus and Alec had proposed the idea of them adopting a child. It seemed more to Magnus like they do away with the Calve entirely and put a group of monkeys in their place with the expressions they were given shortly after they had finished their proposal. Although he was thinking that monkeys could do a better job, Magnus kept himself composed when he could feel Alec's hope slipping by the second.

As the silence expanded, Magnus could feel the possibility of them being approved getting farther from them. No one seemed to want to utter a word, until finally, one brave soul blurted out the thing that Magnus knew all the Clave members were currently thinking. "And why on Earth, Bane, would we let you do that?"

Beside Magnus, Alec tensed considerably, his hand flailing outward, looking for any hold he could get on Magnus. Reaching for his husbands hand, Magnus remained as calm as ever, he had had years of practice in doing so.

"Before you say anything else," Magnus purposely kept his voice steady and full of authority, "allow me to clarify something for everyone. My name is Magnus Lightwood. Alexander and I were married under the approval of the Clave, and I will not stand here and be disrespected by those who allowed us to do so. If the Clave had a problem with Alexander and I being married, then they should not have voted in our favor. So to reiterate, my name, to absolutely everyone here, is Magnus Lightwood."

Magnus took a deep breath after finishing his speech, something he would never have dreamt of saying to the Clave just a few years ago. Now, however, he was filled with a new confidence, a new hope just at the thought of having Alec beside of him.

After his little speech, Magnus hardly noticed what was happening because he was so filled with rage. Some of the Clave members were actually for them, some were strongly against the idea, some were completely indifferent. A few were even arguing quite loudly that Magnus and Alec should have never been approved to be married in the first place, thought they were being widely ignored for the most part. In the end, the Clave decided to not speak on the matter at the time, scheduling a new meeting date and saying that they would come back to the subject and make a final decision at that time.

Looking back, Magnus knew he had been highly aware of the fact that Alec stood utterly quiet by his side, becoming more and more tense by the second.

Surprisingly, Alec stayed completely composed throughout every second of the meeting, it wasn't until they arrived home again that he broke down into terrible heart wrenching sobs at the thought that they would never be allowed to have a family.

It wasn't until they reached home that Magnus allowed himself to break down, too.


	3. Chapter 3

The next few weeks were agonizing. Alec was constantly upset, constantly down, and tension was terribly high in their household. Magnus was quickly becoming exhausted of trying to carefully step his way around every situation.

It felt as though they were simply sitting around waiting for the Clave meeting that would decide their fate. It seemed as though they were on death row, waiting for the Clave to sentence them to a lifetime without a family. The closer they got, the more it seemed to Magnus like they were just waiting around for their marriage to fall apart when their last piece of hope had left them.

As much as he wanted to think that their marriage was eternal and that they were going to be fine no matter what, he couldn't shake the feeling that the situation at hand was putting too much strain on their relationship. Not that they hadn't been through far too many things already, but this was different. Alec was angry all the time, and he almost seemed depressed, and it was all Magnus could do to keep things from falling apart.

He had decided to take a walk, even though it was about two in the morning. He had woken up and felt as though he needed to get out, he needed to get some fresh air. As one of the most powerful people in the world, he had never really thought about things like taking a walk at two in the morning; he had never really seen any danger in it. He had always felt he was the danger.

As Magnus began opening the door, he could immediately tell that Alec was awake before he even entered the room. It was no surprise to him, then, that Alec automatically began practically screaming when he walked in.

"Where the hell have you been, Magnus?" His voice rose a few octaves, a sign that he had been more worried than angry.

Sighing, Magnus began damage control. "Look, Alexander, I'm sorry I worried you. I just really needed to get out and clear my head."

"No." Alec's voice was cold and hard, and it caused Magnus to flinch. "Don't 'Alexander' me and try to pretend that everything is just fine. Because it isn't."

He was finally able to take no more of it, so Magnus said the worst thing possible. "Why don't we talk about what this argument is really about?" As soon as he had said it, he wished he could take it back. He saw the pain spring up in Alec's eyes, and he wanted nothing more than to take that away, but he knew there was nothing he could do to soon resolve the conflict.

"What is that supposed to mean exactly?" At that, it was Magnus's turn to become angry. Alec knew exactly why he was so angry, he knew that this wasn't really about Magnus taking a walk. Alec knew better than anyone else that Magnus could protect himself if needed.

"You know as well as I do, Alec, that this isn't about me taking a walk. This argument is about how scared you are, how unhappy you are with this family situation. You're taking your fear, your anger, and your insecurities out on me, and I do not appreciate that."

This time, Alec whirled on Magnus, becoming even colder, even harder somehow. "Don't talk to me like that, Magnus Bane, don't-"

The silence in the room was deafening. Alec realized what he had said, what he had done, but it was far too late. Magnus knew that the pain he was currently feeling was very clear in every inch of his body. He knew that anyone would be able to tell just how much he was hurting.

Alec began shaking his head, "No, Magnus, no. I didn't mean that."

Magnus laughed, a distant laugh full of pain. "That hurts much more than I ever thought it would, Alexander." He sat down, suddenly very tired, suddenly not wanting to try any longer.

"No, Magnus please. I just- I – I guess I forgot." Alec's voice shook and tears welled up in his eyes.

Magnus chuckled again, but there was no life in it. "You forgot? That we are married? Do you honestly not understand what you've done?" When Alec was silent, Magnus began speaking again, deciding to just power through it. "You know better than absolutely anyone in this universe what becoming a Lightwood meant to me. You know exactly how much it hurts me every single time someone sees me as such an inhuman creature that they can't use my name. You know that, Alexander, you know that." It was then his voice cracked, it was then that he let the tears fall down his face as well, but he didn't care.

"You know, and yet you threw that back at me like it didn't matter how much it would hurt me." As he finished speaking, he began to get up. He shook Alec's hand off of his as Alec tried to reach for him.

"Do not touch me, Alexander. I am going to stay with Catarina tonight. I will see you tomorrow, at our Clave meeting."

He walked out their door while forcing himself to not look back. He almost cracked when he heard Alec begin crying. He only allowed himself to break down once again when he was safely at Catarina's.


	4. Chapter 4

Entering the Clave court the next morning was like entering the worst possible situation Magnus could think of. On one hand, Magnus did not want to face Alec after being so hurt by him the night before, but on the other hand, Magnus did not want to face whatever the Clave was going to throw at them without Alec by his side. It was the worst contradiction Magnus had ever been put through, and he couldn't decide what to do about it.

As he watched Alec enter the room, he was spared having to decide as Isabelle came up beside him. "So," she began, her voice much less cold than Magnus thought it would have been. "Alec told me what happened last night."

Sighing, Magnus replied, "Your point, Isabelle? I'm not really in the mood to deal with very much today, sorry."

He was a bit surprised when Isabelle began smiling. "I don't blame you for that, Magnus. My point is just that Alec is hurting, too. It would be really great if you could swallow your pride right now. Because we both know that you need him just as much as he needs you right now."

Magnus knew she was right, he knew that he was being petty, but he simply shook his head and headed to his seat. He could tell that he would be forced to sit beside of Alec, but for the time being he was determined to stay away from his husband for as long as possible. Even thinking of Alec hurt him, and he gently closed his eyes, wishing for everything to be over.

It was then that Alec decided to come over and take his seat, but before he did so, he rested a gentle hand on Magnus's shoulder. Magnus knew it was Alec's way of trying to apologize without saying anything, his way of showing support even when he could tell that Magnus didn't want it.

Sometimes Magnus thought that age had no effect on maturity. For example, he was currently being far more immature than Alec, and Alec was far younger than he was. He was very conscious of that fact, even as he refused to speak to Alec. He knew it was quite possibly one of the pettiest things he had ever done, but what Alec had said had hurt him to the core, and he wanted to get that message across.

Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he could see Alec's face fall as he took his seat. In his mind, he could hear Isabelle telling him to swallow his pride, and as he heard this he felt Alec tense beside of him as the members of the Clave began taking their seats. Magnus had no idea why, but he reached over and took Alec's hand, feeling Alec relax immediately. Alec gave his hand a bit of a squeeze, but Magnus wasn't really paying attention. All he could think about was how terrible he felt about every possible part of his life at that moment.

He watched as the Court meeting began, but he couldn't really focus on anything that was going on around him. Magnus caught snippets of the conversation. Phrases such as "unfit for a Shadowhunter name" and "atrociously unthinkable" stood out to him the most. He tried to concentrate on the feeling of Alec's hand in his, trying to calm himself down in any way possible. The more he focused on what was happening in the meeting, the worse his thoughts became, so he let his mind drift to other things, completely unaware of what anyone in the Clave was saying.

After several minutes, Magnus finally refocused himself as he felt Alec's hand tense in his. He watched as Robert Lightwood rose from his seat saying, "If no one else has any further worthwhile contributions to this discussion, I would like to say something myself."

Magnus forced himself to keep silent, to keep from groaning, or to keep from getting up and leaving. Whatever Robert Lightwood had to say couldn't be good at all. Robert hadn't exactly been opposed to their marriage, but he hadn't shown up at their wedding either, something that had hurt Alec far more than he would care to admit.

They both watched nervously as Robert took his position in front of the Clave. Magnus was fairly certain that he was going to end up committing murder, then Robert began speaking.

"The fact that we have gathered here today to even have this discussion is appalling to me." Magnus leaned forward, a bit unsure that he had just heard Robert correctly. "The fact of the matter is that the Clave has absolutely no right to tell anyone that they do not have the right to have a family. But the Clave has even less of a right to tell these two men that they cannot have a family."

At that point, Magnus could tell that Alec was just as shocked as he was, which was terribly shocked. There was no way that Robert was saying these things. "These two men are the best men I've ever met, and to think that they would be unfit to raise children is the most insane thing I've ever heard. Anyone who says this clearly doesn't know Magnus and Alec very well because it's very easy to see that the two of them will make the best fathers the world has ever seen."

Magnus risked a glance at Alec, and he could see the sheer awe on his face. He quickly decided that it was a good expression and tuned his attention back to Robert. "I understand that what I am saying is most likely coming as a great shock to my family. But the truth needs to be stated, and the second principle of this conversation is just as absurd as the first. The thought that a Shadowhunter name should never be passed on to Downworlders is something that I simply don't buy into. I stand here before the Clave right now to say that I would be honored to have the Lightwood name passed on to generations of warlocks to come. Magnus Lightwood is simply the first great man in a long line of great Lightwoods to come."

Robert finally glanced over at Magnus and Alec after studiously avoiding looking at them throughout his entire speech. Magnus could clearly see that Robert had genuinely meant every word he had just said, but it still came as a shock to him nonetheless. Alec's hand finally relaxed in his, and Magnus could tell that he had never been so relieved.

What happened next was more of a blur for Magnus than anything that had happened since the first Clave meeting. The Clave "convened" for mere minutes, but they came back in announcing that Magnus and Alec were to be given the rights to adoption. Alec didn't say a word, but he didn't have to. Magnus knew that this was all that he truly wanted, and they both knew that Robert had been their saving grace.

Without thinking, Magnus reached over and kissed Alec, something that seemed to surprise Alec almost as much as Robert's speech had. Magnus felt himself truly relax for the first time in weeks, felt himself realize that their fight was finally over.

As they got up to leave, Robert stopped momentarily saying, "I want to talk with the two of you but later, at home." With that, he was gone, and Alec simply shrugged as he and Magnus looked at each other.

* * *

Entering their apartment that night, Magnus found himself surprised once more as he found a note on his bedside table. He quickly read it before hiding it from Alec, knowing that it would cause much more harm than good at the moment. _Meet me tomorrow at midnight in Dumort. Come alone ~C,_ was all that it read.


	5. Chapter 5

Magnus was somehow able to studiously keep the note and its contents from Alec all day. He felt absolutely horrible for keeping secrets form Alec in this way, especially after just fixing their relationship. The night before, Magnus and Alec had most definitely completely made up; Alec had fallen asleep in Magnus's arms, and it felt almost as though nothing had gone wrong.

Almost. But Magnus couldn't shake the thought of the letter that had been left there. Magnus had to admit that Alec most likely hadn't noticed his distracted mood because Robert had shown up shortly after they had finished their breakfast. When he answered the door and discovered that his father was on the other side, he immediately tensed up, and Magnus could tell that he was nervous about whatever else Robert had to say.

Sitting down, Alec immediately took hold of Magnus's hand, and Magnus sensed that he was shaking slightly. Understanding this, Magnus freed his hand and proceeded to wrap his arm around Alec's waist. As Alec leaned into him, Magnus finally looked toward Robert who seemed to be smiling slightly.

"I know what you're thinking," he began. "How could I have possibly said everything I did yesterday? You have every right to think that, but I just wanted to stop by and tell you both how truly sorry I am."

When Alec didn't speak, Magnus quickly covered the silence for him. "Sorry about what exactly, Robert?"

Robert smiled again and when he spoke, Magus could tell how genuine he was being, and no matter how much Magnus wished otherwise, he began to soften toward Robert. "I treated the two of you absolutely horribly. I may have never been 'opposed' to your marriage, but I didn't exactly support you either. At this point, I simply wish more than anything that I had been half the man that either of you are and had been at your wedding. All I can hope now is that I can somehow begin to make up for what I have done."

Magnus thought this was perfectly reasonable, he knew Robert meant what he was saying, but suddenly Alec became very tense in his arms. "You don't honestly expect me to forgive you, do you, Father?" Alec's voice was uncharacteristically cold. "Don't get me wrong, I greatly appreciate what you did for us yesterday, more than you'll ever know. But you didn't come to my wedding because you didn't approve of the man I am in love with. Now you want me to suddenly believe that you've had a change of heart? I'm sorry, but I don't exactly buy into that."

As Alec and Robert stared at one another, Magnus could clearly see what Alec had just said had both hurt and surprised his father. Robert had obviously thought that what he had done the day before made up for everything that he had done to Alec prior to the Clave meeting. Magnus had learned that when you expected something of Alec, he rarely acted as you thought he would, but Robert had apparently not gotten hat memo.

"Alexander, I-" at that, Alec held up his hand, and Magnus had to tighten his arm around him to keep Alec from getting up. He knew that keeping Alec beside of him would keep Alec calmer.

"No, Robert, don't call me that. Please." Alec's voice had started out hard, but by the time he had gotten to the end of what he was saying, all the conviction in his voice had gone away.

"Alright, Alec," it was obvious that Robert was trying to get back on Alec's good side, was trying to get back into Alec's life. "I'm sorry, and I know that doesn't mean anything to you at this point, and I don't blame you for that. But please just hear me out. I made a mistake, possibly one of the worst mistakes I've ever made. Just tell me what I have to do to be your father again."

Robert took a deep breath, clearly trying to keep himself calm. "Tell me what you want, Alec. If you want me to leave and never come back, okay. I'll leave, I'll get out of your life and I'll never bother you and your family again. But if you want me back in your life, then I swear to you I'll work this out, no matter what it takes."

When he had finished speaking, Robert looked down at his hands, suddenly nervous for the first time since he had walked into their apartment. Magnus began to feel sorry for him, but he could also see that Alec was conflicted. He watched Robert's face fall as Alec began to speak. "I need time to think about this. I'm sorry, but I have to think about what's best for the family I'm about to start."

With that, Alec got up from the couch and left the room. All Magnus could do was give Robert an apologetic smile and walk him to the door.

* * *

About fifteen minutes to midnight, Magnus slid his arm out from under Alec, trying his hardest to keep from waking him up. He either succeeded at this or Alec just assumed that he was getting up to use the bathroom because Alec's eyes remained closed.

As he headed out the door toward the Dumort, Magnus felt guilt continuing to nag at him, but he forced himself to keep walking. He knew what he was likely getting into, but just as he always had, Magnus felt himself being lured into whatever was going on.

He looked around the bottom floor of the Dumort, but it seemed to be empty of the clan, and Magnus knew there was likely a reason for that. He decided that he wasn't going to remain hidden for long, so he raised his voice and said, "Camille, come on out. Let's get this over with."

Magnus jumped as he heard a shrill laugh, he had known Camille was behind the letter, but he still had no idea what she wanted from him. "Magnus, how good of you to show." Camille's smile sent chills down his spine, and Magnus repressed the urge to shudder.

"What do you want, Camille? I have a husband to get back to." The thought of Alec sent a sharp pang through Magnus, but he forced himself to keep his voice steady, forced himself to deal with Camille before anything else.

"That, Magnus, is precisely what I wanted to talk to you about." Magnus must have looked as confused as he felt because Camille continued speaking. "What I mean is that we need to talk about Alec."

Keeping silent, Magnus simply waited Camille out, knowing that she would quickly continue if he said nothing. "I heard you're about to start a family, but I would greatly advise you against doing anything of the sort."

"And why the hell not?" Magnus suddenly became defensive, but he didn't really care. He had thought that this entire situation had been over, that he and Alec were home free, and he didn't have the patience to deal with someone trying to take him back to square one.

"Because, Magnus, I am here to ensure that you don't." This time, Magnus remained silent because he was speechless, not because he knew what Camille was going to do. "You and I were meant to be together, Magnus. It was your fault that we aren't, but I'm not going to sit by and watch you live life with someone else. You're mine and only mine. Try to start a family, and your children won't live past ten."

All Magnus could think was that Camille was utterly insane. She couldn't seriously think that he was still supposed to be with her, that he was supposed to have waited for her. There had to be something off about her, the Camille Magnus had known would never have said anything of the sort. She would have never been caught trying so desperately to hold onto someone she once loved.

Magnus decided that his best course of action was to leave the situation and find out more about what was going on with her. He could stand around and argue with her all day, but he knew that doing so would only agitate her further.

Giving her one final look, Magnus made sure his voice was full of authority as he spoke to her. "You make one move to lay so much as a finger on anyone in my family and I will make you wish that you were dealing with my father instead of me."

* * *

The next morning, Magnus woke to the sound of the phone ringing. He rolled back over and pulled the covers over his eyes as he heard Alec answer. For a few moments, Magnus thought he was going to be allowed to go back to sleep. Then Alec burst into the bedroom, all but yelling at him to wake up.

Sitting up, Magnus was startled at the look on Alec's face. "Alexander, what's wrong?" He knew his voice was still a bit groggy, but Alec hardly seemed to notice.

"Nothing, Magnus, everything's fine. You just have to get up right now and get dressed as quickly as possible. We have to meet Catarina at the hospital immediately."

Magnus paused in the middle of pulling the covers back and getting up from the bed. "Alexander? You just said everything was fine. Why are we going to the hospital? Who got hurt?" He must have looked utterly horrified because Alec walked toward him, reaching out to try to comfort him.

"Calm down, Magnus. No one is hurt. Well, none of our family is hurt." Magnus must have looked confused because Alec smiled and chuckled slightly. "Catarina called because someone dropped off a three-year old warlock boy. He's been beaten, but he's fine otherwise. She wants us to come in and see him."

He must have looked as horrified as he felt because Alec reached over to give him a kiss. "Calm down, Magnus. Nothing bad is happening to you. Catarina wants you to come in because the boy is terrified. He won't let anyone anywhere near him other than Catarina. Apparently he was beaten by his mundane parents and she wants to see if you can help him."

At that, Magnus relaxed considerably, but then he realized that he was slightly upset. Alec must have realized this, too because he smiled again and said one last thing before moving to get dressed. "Goodness, Magnus, stop reacting so strongly to everything I'm saying. If we meet him and we want, we can definitely see if he wants to stay with us."


	6. Chapter 6

Magnus didn't have any idea of what to expect from the child they were about to meet. He understood why Catarina had called him, but that didn't mean that he liked it. Tessa had always been more gentle than he had, but when it came to the area of child abuse, he was unfortunately the one who had the experience. He supposed she might have called Ragnor once upon a time, but there was the little fact that Ragnor was gone now.

As they walked into the hospital, Magnus felt an uncharacteristic pang at the thought of Ragnor. He forced himself to turn his thoughts away from Ragnor and back to the situation at hand. He made a mental note to visit Ragnor's grave soon. Although there hadn't been a body to bury, Magnus and Catarina had made a memorial for him, something simple placed at his favorite spot on Earth.

"Magnus, Alec, thank goodness you're here. Follow me." Catarina's voice finally pulled Magnus out of his thoughts about Ragnor. He cleared his throat as he and Alec began to follow Catarina, and Alec looked over at him but apparently decided to leave well enough alone, simply taking Magnus's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

Magnus found himself swallowing nervously as Catarina carefully opened the door to what appeared to be the child's hospital room. She motioned for Magnus and Alec to wait in the hallway, and Magnus could hear her saying, "Hi, Matthew. I've brought two very good friends of mine to see you. They're here to help, I promise. I'd trust them both with my life, so you don't have anything to be afraid of, okay?"

Matthew must have nodded that it was okay because Catarina quickly popped her head out into the hallway and motioned for them to enter the room. Magnus walked into the room first, but he quickly came to a halt as he got his first look at Matthew.

What caught Magnus by surprise was not the awful bruises covering the boy before him, it hadn't even been the bandages that Magnus knew were covering wounds worse than bruises or even the black eye that he was quickly developing. What caused Magnus to stop in his tracks was the fact that the boy before him was green. Almost the exact shade of green that Ragnor had been.

Even more surprisingly, Alec seemed to catch on to this immediately as well. He gently placed a hand on Magnus's shoulder before stepping in front of Magnus and moving toward the bed. Matthew's eyes widened as Alec got closer to him, and Alec registered this as well, slowing down and trying to position himself as to keep from scaring the boy any more. Instead of sitting on the side of the bed, Alec squatted down beside of it, placing his hands on top, and Magnus could tell that this was a way to let Matthew know exactly what he was doing.

When Alec spoke, his voice was so gentle that Magnus could hardly bear the sound of it himself. "Hey there, Matthew. I'm really sorry that you're not feeling well, but we're here to help if we can, okay? There's nothing to be scared of. I'm Alec, and this is Magnus."

For this first time since they had entered the room, Matthew looked over at Magnus, and when he spoke his voice was hoarse as though he'd been screaming. "You're like me, aren't you?" The question was definitely directed at Magnus, and it caught him by surprise.

"Well, yeah, I am." He came to squat beside of Alec as well, quickly realizing that his height was far too intimidating while he was standing over Matthew. "And I'm guessing that right now you think that what you are is terrible. You're most likely scared of what you are. But I promise that there's nothing for you to be scared of, there's nothing wrong with you in any way."

Matthew looked Magnus directly in the eye, and it pained Magnus to see that tears were starting to form in the boy's own eyes. "My daddy told me I'm a monster." Magnus reached up to place a hand over Matthew's, and surprisingly, the boy didn't flinch.

Clearing his throat and trying to keep his voice even, Magnus continued as best he could. "My daddy used to tell me that, too. But I didn't listen to him, and that's a good thing because he was wrong. And your daddy is wrong, too."

He was greatly surprised when Matthew's small hand moved to grip a few of his own fingers. He wished more than anything that the boy could see himself the way Magnus knew he would be able to see himself much later in his lifetime. "What about my skin?" was all that Matthew asked in response.

Magnus felt Catarina pause beside of him. She had been working with some medical equipment, organizing it and generally trying to make herself seem as though she wasn't paying attention to the conversation before her. At Matthew's question, however, she paused, very clearly suddenly uncomfortable at the turn the conversation had taken.

"Well, Matthew," Magnus knew his voice was a bit shaky, but with any luck, only Alec would be able to pick up on that. "My best friend in the entire world had skin the exact color of yours. He was the best man I've ever met, the furthest from a monster that anyone could ever be." He took a deep breath as Alec took hold of his other hand. "Your skin is just a symbol of what you are, nothing more. It doesn't make you a bad person. It doesn't make you a good person either. What makes you a good person is what you do with your life."

Everyone in the room seemed to be caught off guard by Magnus's tiny speech, including Magnus himself. It was obvious that Matthew was trying to work through this, was trying to figure out whether or not he believed Magnus.

"Magnus?" His voice was soft and innocent, the kind of innocence only children can achieve. "Is there any way you and Alec could maybe stay for a while?"

* * *

Returning to the apartment that night, Alec immediately threw himself down on the couch. Magnus walked over to him, taking his hand as he sat on the couch. "What's wrong, love?"

"What's wrong?" Alec's voice was shrill, and Magnus could tell Alec was going through a million emotions at once. "That child hates himself and he's barely five, Magnus. All because his parents were scared of what he is." Alec leaned over into Magnus's arms and Magnus reached out reflexively. "I just feel like I should have been able to do something."

Magnus knew his brows were furrowed as he responded to Alec. "Do something? Alexander, I think you did more than you understand for that boy. When we walked in, he was terrified. By the time we left, you had him smiling and laughing. I do have a question though."

Turning to look at him, Alec's eyes were full of curiosity, but Magnus was happy to see that they were full of love as well. "You seemed to know exactly what to do from the moment we got there. Why is that? Do you have experience with this that I don't know about?"

Shaking his head, Alec kept his voice soft and Magnus could tell that he was doing so intentionally. "No, Magnus, I don't have any experience with child abuse. It's just that I've thought a lot about you and your mundane parents, and other than that, I don't know. I guess I'm just good with kids, that's all."

Magnus smiled, and shook his own head. "That's all, is it?" When Alec nodded, Magnus couldn't help but bend down to kiss his husband. Once he stopped, he remained as close to Alec as possible, with his forehead pressed to Alec's, staring into Alec's eyes, something he absolutely loved to do. "Do you think we should see if he wants to come stay with us, Alexander?"

Smiling back up at him, Alec automatically nodded. "I think that's the best idea you've ever had, Magnus," was all he said before resuming the kiss Magnus had so unkindly paused.

* * *

"Me? Really? You can't be serious!" Matthew's excitement was almost too much for Magnus to handle. He hadn't expected Matthew to react this strongly, but as soon as they had suggested that he come stay with them as soon as he got out of the hospital, his eyes lit up and his entire demeanor changed.

When Alec nodded in response, Matthew continued speaking, and Magnus had to intentionally keep himself calm. "Daddy told me that no one would ever want me, but he was wrong, wasn't he?"

Magnus couldn't find any words at all, but Alec answered for them both. "He was wrong, Matthew. Very, very wrong."


	7. Chapter 7

The next few weeks went by in a blur for Magnus. The whirlwind of getting used to life with a child was enough to make him insane, and Alec unbelievably seemed to be adjusting to it flawlessly. At times, it seemed as though Magnus was going to pull all of his hair out, not because Matthew was a bad child, but rather because Magnus mostly felt as though he was a bad father. Yet every time he seemed to be on the verge of screaming from this feeling, Alec seemed to be right behind him, picking up the pieces and putting him back together.

It wasn't that Magnus wasn't happy, he was terribly happy indeed, but everything was so constantly stressful that it was almost as though they were fighting Valentine all over again, except this time, there was no winning.

At one point, Magnus even thought that things were going to be alright for once, that they were going to get to be happy and stay happy, something that they had never had the luxury of before. He could feel himself relaxing, letting his guard down and falling into the gentle groove of life with a family. He could tell that Alec was horribly happy as well, sometimes so happy that it would have been sickening if Magnus hadn't been so in love with him.

The only thing that ever seemed to dampen Magnus's mood was the fact that he had yet to tell Alec about what Camille had said. He mostly hadn't done so because every time he tried to bring it up, he couldn't bear the thought of diminishing Alec's happiness in any way. The longer he waited, the more he knew it would hurt Alec to tell him about it, the worse he knew their fight over it would become.

"What do you mean you talked to Camille?" Magnus had decided that telling Catarina would be the best course of action, he simply had to tell someone, and he knew Catarina wouldn't get herself involved in anything of the sort. She seemed to be the safest option, but she currently sounded appalled at the thought of Magnus seeing Camille in any form.

"She asked me to come see her, so I did." Catarina allowed Magnus to continue to explain everything that had happened with Camille, gracefully remaining silent until he had finished. He had trouble reading her expressions due to the fact that she had put far too many years of practice into perfecting her poker face.

"And you haven't told Alec because?" was all she said when he had finished, and it caught him off guard. Magnus had been expecting her to tell him what an idiot he was, how terrible he was being, but all she had done was remind him of the only thing worth thinking of in this situation: Alec.

"I'm not sure, Cat. I've been trying to. I guess the thought of having another fight with him scares me more than Camille does." Magnus was surprised when Catarina laughed at this, and his expression must have shown it because she smiled back at him and replied.

"I'm sorry, Magnus. It's just that your love for Alec makes me happy. You've never loved anyone this way, and I'm not a betting woman, but I'd put my money on the bet that you won't ever love anyone like this again."

Magnus couldn't help but smile at this, but it was a smile mixed with joy and sorrow. Sure, his love for Alec made her happy now, but how would she feel years from now when Magnus had lost Alec and he simply didn't care for life all that much anymore? At the thought of Matthew, Magnus was able to push away that thought for the first time since he had fallen in love with Alec.

When Magnus's responded, his voice was terribly soft in the way that only talking about Alec could make it, in the way that annoyed him to no end. "Yeah, Alec's one of a kind in that respect."

Catarina suddenly got up, pulling Magnus behind her. "Come on, Magnus. We're going to go tell Alec about this right now, and I'm going to be right beside you because you can't keep doing this."

* * *

Magnus stopped dead in his tracks as soon as the apartment came into view. Catarina stopped as well, and Magnus could hear her asking him something, but he didn't register it. The bottom entrance to the apartment was standing wide open, which wouldn't have been anything to worry about if it weren't for the fact that he could see the blood from where he stood. He was already halfway there by the time Catarina had finished her sentence.

Magnus took the stairs three at a time, already screaming for Alec but somehow knowing it would be in vain. When he reached the top, he heard Catarina behind him asking him to stop, telling him that it wasn't safe, but he didn't listen. He might have listened if it had not been for the fact that Alec was sprawled across the living room floor, the apartment a complete mess around him.

Throwing himself toward Alec, Magnus ignored the blood that surrounded him, checking for a pulse. His heart skipped a beat as he realized that Alec had a pulse, even it was faint one. Then Catarina was suddenly beside him, pulling his hand away. Had it been anyone else, Magnus would have fought tooth and nail to stay by Alec's side, but even he knew how much better Catarina was at healing than he was, so he relented, getting up and going to sit on the couch for the purpose of working things through.

As he sat down, he saw yet another note placed on the arm of the couch. It read, _He put up quite a fight, he really did. Hopefully your darling Alexander will still be alive by the time you get back. Oh, and by the way, Matthew's with me now. I would suggest you think long and hard before trying to rescue him. –with love, Camille._

Magnus placed his head in his hands, suddenly too overwhelmed to do anything other than breathe. She had obviously gone insane, that was the only explanation that brought Magnus any sort of peace. He looked up as Alec finally began to move, but he couldn't seem to make a move himself, couldn't seem to move himself back to Alec's side.

"Magnus?" Alec's voice was terribly soft, barely audible, yet it was so full of pain that Magnus's heart broke at the sound of it. He began to move his arm, and Catarina pinned him down, turning to Magnus for help.

Finally, Magnus was able pull himself out of his thoughts, his utter horror, and move back toward Alec. He took hold of Alec's arm from Catarina, both pinning it to the ground as well as gently taking Alec's hand. Once Alec finally stopped trying to move, Magnus removed his hand from Alec's shoulder and moved to brush his hair out of his eyes. "Just hold still, Alexander. Everything will be fine."

He tried to keep Alec from talking, tried to keep him quiet and relaxed, but Alec finally got another word out past the pain. "Matthew?"

Magnus was spared responding by the sound of the front door opening again. He was ready to pin whoever it was to the wall with magic, but he realized it was Raphael just in time. "I almost hurt you, you know? You should announce yourself next time."

"We don't have time for announcements, Magnus." Raphael's voice was surprisingly gentle, something that Magnus was unsure he had ever heard from Raphael. "I know where Camille is and we need to get your son out. Right now."

The first thought Magnus had was of the note that Camille had left. He held it out to Raphael, unable to think of anything to say. He knew that Camille had most likely simply left the note because she actually wanted him to come find her. She wanted to hurt him more than anything, and she had to get him there in order to do so.

Raphael looked thoughtful for a moment, as if weighing his options, and when he spoke, Magnus had never been so surprised in his life. "You stay here, Magnus. If I go to get him, I can make her think that I've done so of my own accord. I can make her think that you have nothing to do with my being there, and she won't confront you because she won't think you have anything to do with it."

Catarina suddenly looked up, obviously thinking that Raphael was insane, but she remained silent. Magnus was thinking the same thing, but it also didn't sound like a bad idea. If anyone could confront Camille without much of an actual confrontation, it was likely to be Raphael.

All Magnus could do was nod, too overwhelmed to do anything else.

* * *

Raphael cautiously walked back into the Dumort, trying his hardest to pretend as though he was simply coming home. Camille did not know that he had seen Matthew with her earlier, so she would have no way of knowing that he had gone to Magnus.

He walked immediately to the room he knew she would be in, walking with a purpose, hoping that anyone who might see him might think that he had something important to tell her. He idly wondered when he had come to care so much for Magnus that he would do something so insane for him as to go against Camille's authority, even if what she was doing was utterly wrong in every conceivable way.

Without knocking, Raphael burst through the door, knowing she would tell him to wait and intercept him before he could get to Matthew. "Camille, there's something we need to discuss. A problem with the wolves. I –" he stopped speaking as he saw Matthew, as though he was surprised that the boy was there. He only hoped that she couldn't read into it at all.

"Camille? What are you doing with that child?" Raphael made sure that his voice only showed a hint of curiosity, nothing of accusation. When Camille smiled, Raphael had to suppress a shudder. Looking over at Matthew, he didn't look like he'd been hurt, but with Camille, that didn't mean anything.

"I'm finally teaching Magnus Bane a lesson." Raphael had to bite his tongue to keep from correcting her on Magnus's name. He knew that would be the one thing that set her off the most, reminding her that Magnus was married to someone other than her, and a Shadowhunter, no less.

Camille looked like she was going to say something else, but she stopped when she heard a whimper from behind her. She turned on Matthew faster than Raphael had thought she would. "You shut up or I'll make you. Your dad deserves everything I am about to do to him." She was practically screaming, and Raphael was getting scared himself, he knew Matthew had to be terrified.

"Camille, please, he's just a child." Raphael knew he probably shouldn't have spoken up, but something about the combination of terror and innocence in Matthew's face that made Raphael want to protect him. Before Camille could answer, however, Matthew spoke up himself, and Raphael was pleasantly surprised by the boy's voice.

"My daddy is a good man. He definitely doesn't deserve whatever you want to do to him. I don't care what you say, I just won't believe it." Raphael watched on uneasily as Camille turned on Matthew once again.

"Your father is one of the worst men I've ever met. And that's why I'm going to hurt you. That will hurt him more than anything else I could possibly do." As she began to smile again, Raphael slowly walked between her and Matthew, holding his hands up as he did so.

For a moment, he thought that Camille was going immediately move to fight him, but she remained where she stood, looking at him with eyes full of curiosity. "Hold on, Camille, please. No matter what you think Magnus has done to you, this child is absolutely innocent."

"Step aside, Raphael, or I'll just have to hurt you, too. Don't think that I won't do it either. That will just hurt Magnus even more."

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Raphael tried to make himself seem as though he didn't care. "You won't hurt me, and you know it. The Clan would be in an uproar if you did." He stared back at her, praying that he was right.


	8. Chapter 8

Magnus couldn't sit still for much longer. Raphael should have been back quite a while ago, the walk to and from the Dumort couldn't possibly take him this long. His anxiety was rising and the only thing he could think to do was go after Raphael, even if that was potentially a terribly bad idea.

Alec was finally resting peacefully, but Catarina was still there, mostly because she had used up too much energy healing Alec rather than the fact that she thought Alec wasn't going to be okay. Magnus was comforted by her being there, but the longer he waited, the worse things inside his mind became, yet he knew Catarina was going to object him going behind Raphael.

He knew the best way to get her to agree was to simply tell her what he was doing rather than to try to ask her what she thought of it. "I'm going after Raphael. He should be back already, something could be wrong, so I have to go." For a moment, Magnus prepared himself for an argument to ensue, but she simply nodded.

Before he moved to leave the apartment, he stopped by Alec one last time, gently wiping Alec's hair out of his eyes. He bent down to kiss Alec's forehead, then forced himself to walk out of the door without looking back.

* * *

Entering the Dumort was the last thing Magnus wanted to do, but he knew he had to get to his son, he had to get to Raphael. And he preferably wanted to do this before it was too late. He entered very cautiously, hands at the ready just in case he needed to use magic in any way. It wasn't as though he was a Shadowhunter or a werewolf, his entering the hotel wasn't exactly a crime, but he wouldn't exactly be welcomed either.

When he entered, Magnus was surprised to see that no vampires were in the immediate vicinity. He decided to follow the voices that he did hear, hoping that they were coming from Camille and Raphael. The closer he got, the clearer it became to him that the voices were coming from them, and they were both angry. Quickening his pace, Magnus began to realize that it sounded like they were fighting, and not just verbally.

As he came to the door that their voices were seeping out of, he slowed, pressing his back against the wall and trying to get a feel for what was going on before he burst through the door.

"Are you really going to side with them, Raphael?" Camille's voice was terrifying even to Magnus, who couldn't see her yet. "You're going to go against your own kind, and for what? The sake of a child you barely know?"

Surprisingly, Raphael's voice was flung back at her, just as strong. "This child is innocent and you know it. And it's not just for him, it's for Magnus, too. They're more my family than you will ever be." Raphael's voice was terribly cold, and Magnus knew that if Matthew was conscious that he had to be terrified.

"This is foolish, Raphael, and you know it. I'm much stronger than you, you're not going to win this fight." From this, Magnus could tell that Raphael was losing ground, he could tell he had to act fast, he just didn't know what he needed to do.

Before Magnus could figure out what to do, he heard Raphael groan in pain, but under that, he heard a muffled whimper, and he knew Matthew was still awake. And he was being forced to watch what was going on. Without thinking any longer, Magnus kicked the door open, his hands stretched out in front of him, an obvious warning sign for Camille.

"Magnus, darling, nice of you to join us." Camille's voice was ice cold, and the smile on her face sent chills down Magnus's spine. She had a knife to Raphael's throat, which was unusual because she had no true need for a knife.

Before saying anything, Magnus turned to Matthew, giving him a meaningful look, and Matthew simply nodded, knowing he needed to stay quiet. "Let him go, Camille," Magnus's voice was full of authority, but his eyes were still on his son. "Your fight is with me, not Raphael."

Camille laughed, and it was then that Magnus realized she was completely out of her mind. "Raphael has so kindly made my fight with the both of you. So before I take care of you, I am going to take care of him." Her smile widened before she continued. "And your son."

As Camille threw her knife, Magnus acted on reflex, using his magic to stop the knife just before it embedded itself in Matthew's chest. What he hadn't counted on was for Camille to be holding a wooden stake as well. While he was occupied with Matthew, she forced the stake through Raphael's back, straight through his heart.

The look of surprise on Raphael's face was heartbreaking, and it exactly mirrored the surprise that Magnus was feeling himself. He couldn't do anything other than watch as Raphael slumped to his knees, and as Camille stepped away, the sickening grin still on her face, he fell backward, the stake pushed further through his chest.

When Magnus finally had the strength to look away from him, he saw that the knife was still hanging in the air in front of Matthew whose eyes were screwed shut as tight as he could get them. Camille laughed again, and Magnus suddenly became very angry.

Before he knew what he was doing, the knife had flown away from Matthew and was now poised to easily slit Camille's throat. Her smile, however, never vanished, making Magnus all the angrier.

"Do you really want your son to watch you become a murderer, Magnus?" Her voice was light, as though she didn't have a care in the world, yet she made Magnus pause for a moment.

Looking back at Matthew, Magnus automatically knew that he simply couldn't do anything of the sort. But that didn't mean that Camille had to know he couldn't. Just as quickly as the knife had flow to Camille's throat, it flew to Magnus's hand. Instead of stepping forward, however, he threw his had up, sending Camille up against the wall, and none too gently at that.

"You're right, Camille, I'm not going to kill you. But you've killed one of your own kind, you've gone rouge. That's something I can let the Clave deal with." As he reached to pull out his phone, he was pleased to see the smile finally fall from her face. She was finally scared, and rightly so. Anything the Clave would do to her was much worse than whatever Magnus had been planning to do.

* * *

Magnus had immediately cut Matthew loose from the ropes Camille had tied around him. He had quickly thrown himself into Magnus's arms, but his eyes remained surprisingly dry. The first thing he had asked Magnus was, "Is Daddy alright?" Magnus hadn't had the strength to do anything other than nod.

He was having trouble keeping his eyes from returning to Raphael. He couldn't help but feel as though what had happened was his fault. And the more he looked at the still body before him, the more he thought about the young boy he had once saved.

After a few minutes, Matthew tugged on his shirt. "Daddy? Why don't you go take care of him? I'll be okay." Matthew's voice was the kind of gentle that Magnus often associated with Alec, and he couldn't' help but smile softly.

Setting Matthew back on the floor, Magnus walked over to Raphael and bent down to move his feet out from under him. After doing so, Magnus found himself unable to move, suddenly overcome with emotions he was currently too afraid to face. He felt a small hand on his shoulder, and he turned to see Matthew right beside of him.

"Daddy? I have a question." Magnus simply nodded at him, afraid that if he tried to speak that Matthew would be able to hear the despair in his voice. "It's just that he saved my life, so I was wondering if it would be okay if I called him Uncle Raphael from now on. Even if he won't know it."

Magnus reached over to wrap his arms around his son once more. His voice was hoarse as he responded, "Of course, son. That's a wonderful idea."


	9. Chapter 9

For the next few days, Alec gracefully took care of Magnus, leaving him alone the majority of the time, simply checking in on him every once in a while. Magnus was terribly thankful that Alec was giving him his space, but sometimes his mind was becoming too much for him to bear. Occasionally, Alec would come find him and simply sit with him, one hand holding one of Magnus's, another always holding a book. Magnus knew it was his way of showing that he was there without pressuring Magnus into talking to him.

Eventually, however, Matthew escaped from under his father's careful eye, jerking Magnus out of his thoughts as he knocked softly on the door. "Daddy? Can I come in?" Matthew's voice was terribly soft, making Magnus smile because he knew Alec must have fallen asleep and Matthew was afraid of waking him.

Keeping his voice soft as well, Magnus consented, ensuring that he wouldn't wake Alec either. Matthew entered the room cautiously, walking to Magnus's side before he began to speak again.

"I'm sorry, Daddy. I won't be here long, I just wanted to make sure that you were okay, and Daddy kept telling me that I couldn't come in here because it would bother you." Magnus couldn't help it, he had to smile and antagonize his son a bit.

"Let me guess, Daddy's asleep?" He chuckled as Matthew looked down at his feet, suddenly afraid of getting in trouble. Magnus reached over and scooped his son up, kissing the top of his head as he moved to set Matthew on his lap. "You're not in trouble, bud. I don't mind you being in here, your dad is just worried about me, that's all."

Matthew looked up at him with a soft concern in his eyes, and Magnus was once again struck by how much the boy reminded him of Alec. "Is there something to worry about, Daddy?" At first, Magnus's didn't want to respond. He hadn't been hiding from his emotions, not this time, but facing them had left him drained.

"No, Matthew, there's nothing to worry about at all. Daddy gets into a fuss a lot, but I'm fine." He reached down to ruffle Matthew's hair, hoping he was successfully keeping all of the emotion he was feeling out of his voice. "I promise, son."

For a moment, Matthew seemed to relax, then he looked back up at Magnus once more. "Is it alright if I stay with you for a while, Daddy? I won't bother you, I promise." Magnus smiled and simply nodded, knowing that his son didn't fully understand just how much his presence meant to him.

A couple hours passed, Matthew had fallen asleep before long, and Magnus reveled in the peace he felt. It was only when he heard Alec get up that he realized he'd been trying to read the same page for the past thirty minutes.

When Alec opened the door, Magnus expected him to be angry with Matthew, but he simply came in without waking Matthew up and took him out of Magnus's arms. He walked out of the room, but quickly returned, and Magnus could only assume that he had put Matthew to bed.

"I want to talk to you about something," Alec said as he sat down beside of Magnus. His voice was terribly soft, something that was starting to get to Magnus slightly, but he knew it was only out of love that Alec was being so gentle.

"Go ahead, Alexander. Maybe it'll take my mind off of all of this." Instinctively, Magnus reached over to take hold of Alec's hand, knowing that it would be the only source of comfort he would be able to find.

At first, Alec looked as though he didn't want to speak, it was like he was suddenly scared of overstepping some unknown boundary. "I understand that Raphael's death was for Matthew, for us. But I don't want to simply mourn it and go on about our lives, I want something good to come of it."

For a moment, Magnus was terribly confused. His face must have conveyed this because Alec continued without much of a pause. "Raphael died because he was protecting Matthew. Camille may have been the reason Matthew was in danger to begin with, but if it hadn't been for Raphael, a lot more would have happened to both you and Matthew than it did. And I was just thinking that now Shadowhunter could ignore that. You're both Lightwoods, and Raphael protected you. I just honestly believe that something in the way of Downworlder's rights could easily come from this."

It took a few moments for Magnus to register what Alec was suggesting. Yet the more he thought about it, the more he understood what Alec was trying to convey. The fact that a vampire had stood up for a Lightwood would not go unnoticed, even if the Lightwoods he had protected were warlocks. It would simply take the right person to bring it even further into the light and make something out of it.

Alec seemed to take Magnus's lengthy silence as a bad sign because he continued once more, this time talking as quickly as he could, as though trying to retrace and apologize. "Look, I'm sorry, Magnus. I didn't mean anything by it. Forget I said anything."

As Alec turned to leave the room, Magnus reached up to grab his hand. "Wait a second, Alexander." His voice was still as soft as it had been when he was speaking to Matthew, but he knew that wasn't going to change. "I wasn't staying quiet because I thought it was a bad idea, quite the opposite actually." Alec moved to sit down, the curiosity in his eyes obvious.

"You're right, and the idea of it simply startled me at first, but I do have a request of my own to make." When Alec simply nodded, Magnus continued, a slight smile on his face, knowing that Alec was going to be the one surprised this time. "If anyone is going to try to use this to advocate for Downworlder's rights, I want it to be you."

At his words, Alec visibly froze, and Magnus couldn't help but smile wider. "Why are you startled, Alexander? You've already become instrumental in changing the dynamics between Shadowhunters and Downworlders. Why shouldn't it be you to continue the fight?"

Alec remained silent for a few moments, but before long, he was on his feet once more. "I need to make a few calls," was all that he said. But as he turned to open the door, he almost stumbled over Matthew standing in the doorway.

"Daddy? I have a question." Matthew sounded terribly tired, as though he had momentarily fallen asleep and had only grudgingly gotten out of bed.

When Alec answered in what Magnus loved to call his "Daddy voice", Magnus was sure he wasn't ever going to stop smiling. "What is it, baby?"

Matthew looked between the two of them for a moment before answering. "I was wondering if you could teach me a couple of things. Like how to fight, for one. You could train me like a Shadowhunter, and Daddy could train me with magic." Alec opened his mouth to speak, and Magnus could tell he was most likely going to protest. Matthew apparently realized this as well because he continued speaking before his father could.

"Wait, Daddy, just listen to me. I also want to learn how to help you with the whole Downworlder's rights thing. I want to make a difference, like you and Daddy have. But I'll have to know how to protect myself, too."

This sounded perfectly reasonable to Magnus, but he also knew he was seeing it from an immortal's point of view as well. He knew that Matthew would eventually have to be trained one way or another, and training him as both a Shadowhunter and a warlock would practically ensure protection forever. Alec, however, was obviously having an internal debate of his own.

"Uncle Jace and Aunt Isabelle have taught me a lot about you and Daddy." Magnus could feel how proud he was of Matthew; watching his son want nothing more than to make a difference in the world was all he could ask for. "You're both heroes, and I know it, you can't make me think otherwise. And I want to learn how to be like you, both of you. But you'll have to be willing to teach me."

Magnus's first thought was that there was no way Alec was ever going to consent. But Magnus was surprised once again when Alec began speaking. "Well, Matthew, if you're really serious about this, then you should come listen while I make the calls I need to make. It's never too early to start learning about it. And in the morning, we can talk to Uncle Jace about making you a training schedule, and Daddy can help you make a magic lesson schedule, too. How does that sound?"

Magnus sat and watched as Matthew launched himself toward Alec, hugging his legs because he couldn't reach any higher. Alec quickly bent down to return the hug, then they both found themselves wrapped in Magnus's arms as well.

Smile still on his face, Magnus couldn't help but think of Raphael as he began to speak again. "I think it sounds like this family is going to change the world."

As Matthew spoke up, Magnus had to keep the tears out of his eyes. "In Uncle Raphael's name, right?"

* * *

 _Haley, here! Thanks so much for sticking through this story! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Let me know what you thought of it!_

 _Always feel free to come talk to me about my writing! I love feedback in any form! Also feel free to send me suggestions on what to write next/what you want to see me write!_


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